Apparatus for the labeling of bottles and other articles



June 17, 1969 ZODROW 3,450,591

APPARATUS FOR THE LABELING OF BOTTLES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Aug. 15.1966 Sheet of 3 June 17, 1969 R. ZODROW 3,450,591

APPARATUS FOR THE LABELING OF BOTTLES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Aug. 15,1966 Sheet 2 of 3 Fig. 2 l

v Fig.3

June 17, 1969 R. ZODROW 3,450,591 APPARATUS FOR THE LABELING OF BOTTLESAND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Aug. 15. 1966 Sheet 3 or 3 United States Patent3,450,591 APPARATUS FOR THE LABELING OF BOTTLES AND OTHER ARTICLESRudolf Zodrow, Dusseldorf, Germany, assignor to Jagenberg-Werke AG,Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 572,411 Claimspriority, application Germany, Sept. 17, 1965, J 29,010 Int. Cl. B65c9/30 US. Cl. 156571 6 Claims the principle of label rotation, generallythe arrangement 7 is such that the labels are withdrawn from one or moreoscillating label holders or containers by means of a cylinder havingadhesive segments and are applied to the articles to be labeled by meansof a conveying unit interposed therebetween. Manifestly, suchoscillating label holders impose a substantial limitation to the outputof the machine since in the event of the oscillating movement of thelabel holders being too rapid the labels can no longer be held securelyin the holders. In addition to the above, the label holders cannot beoscillated at any desired high speed in view of the fact that due to theconstant reversal of movement and the resultant acceleration anddeceleration of the holders inadmissible forces develop which result ina rapid and serious wear of the respective components. In order toincrease the output of During this operation, the segments, prior to thewiththe labeling machine and eliminate the problems above referred to,it has been suggested to utilize stationary label holders or containersand associate therewith suitable tools for withdrawing the labels fromthe holders and conveying such labels to other operative components. Inone of the known apparatus there are included rotatable withdrawingmembers which are positioned on a rotatable support. While the entiresupport rotates, the withdrawing members initially roll over an adhesiveor glue band and thereafter over the outermost or foremost label of theholder and pass the thus removed single label via a further rotationabout their axes to a unit through which the bottles to be labeled arelater moved or conveyed. However, such equipment possesses numerousdisadvantages which become apparent in connection with the gluing andthe removal of a single label, as well as the further movement orpassage of the separated labels to a conveying means. Hence, forexample, it is not possible to apply adhesive to the rotatablewithdrawing members by the intermediary of a gluing roller since' suchan arrangement would provide only a single line contact between thewithdrawing members and the gluing roller. For this reason the knownapparatus includes an adhesive band on which the withdrawing membersunroll, but such a layout does not result in a uniform application ofthe adhesive since the contact pressure between the withdrawing membersand the adhesive band varies in magnitude during the gluing.

Yet a further problem develops by the use of such withdrawing members inthe further movement of the labels such as, for example, the transfer ofthe labels to a gripping device. For this purpose, special steps must betaken to assure that the withdrawing members which rotate continuouslyduring the rotation of the entire support will assume a specificdefinite position at the transferof the labels to the gripping device.In other words, the Withdrawing members must at the proper moment be insuch a position that the gripping device can grasp the forward edge ofthe label. Moreover, the labels to be separated must be curved insidethe label holder in such a fashion that the withdrawing members can rollover the outermost or foremost label. In the case of a common type oflabel holder wherein the label withdrawing side is flat, only thevertical middle line of the label was contacted by the withdrawingmembers and, as a consequence, the label was not withdrawn.

For the above reasons, in another type of known apparatus the rotatablerollers provided for the removal of a single label and which rollers arepositioned on a rotatable support, are maintained under the influence ofpres-- sure springs so that such rollers can roll along the entire flatwithdrawing side of the label. Aside from the relatively highconstruction costs involved in the above two known types of apparatus,such apparatus cannot be uti-' lized with the present-day highproduction machines in order to realize an unobjectionable andtrouble-free labeling procedure.

A salient object of the present invention is to provide an apparatuswhich eliminates the above-mentioned difficulties and disadvantagesexisting in the art.

According to the present invention, the problems existing have beensolved by the provision of segments having curved surfaces adapted tohave an adhesive applied thereto and in which each segment is providedwith a radius of curvature which corresponds to the shortest distancebetween the center of rotation of the support and the plane ofwithdrawal of the stack of labels. Furthermore, the

segments which are positioned rotatably upon the rotatable support rollonto the stack of labels which is located tangentially to the curvedsurfaces of the segments with a progressive withdrawal of the outermostor foremost label.

drawal of the outermost label, execute a swinging movement in advance ofthe rotational movement and upon withdrawal of the label a swingingmovement following the rotational movement. In other words, theeffective surfaces of thesegments by having a curvature corresponding totheir rotational path are temporarily moved out of the rotational pathin the zone of the stack of labels. In order to effect the swingingmovement of the segments, cam control members in the nature oflevers areprovided and one arm of the levers includes a toothed segment whichcoacts with a gear wheel positioned on the segment while the other armincludes a roller cooperable with a cam track.

Broadly, the apparatus includes a stationary holder for the labels andfrom which holder the labels are withdrawn individually, a rotatablesupportlocated in operativerelationship to the holder, segmentsrotatably mounted on the support, each segment having a curved surfaceadapted to receive an adhesive material so that when such segment movespast the holder during rotation of the support, the outermost label inthe holder is attached to the curved surface thereby being withdrawnfrom the holder and con-' veyed to the article to be labeled, and theradius of curvature of the surface of the segment corresponding'to theshortest distance between the axis of rotation of the support and theplane of withdrawal of each label from'the holder.

It is also possible that the segmentscould be designed as suctionmembers, in which situation the segments would roll over the stack oflabels, withdraw the outermost label, move the label past a gluingroller and thereafter apply the label to the article.

It is also possible in a situation in which labels having athermoplastic coating are being processed, and which coating is renderedadhesive by the influence of heat, to employ a heating means in lieu ofthe gluing roller for activating the coating on the label.

In order to increase the output of the apparatus the invention furthercomprehends the employment of a conveying means for transferring thelabels from the segments to the articles to be labeled, there beingassociated with the conveying means a plurality of rotatable supportsprovided with the segments and which segments alternatively transfer thelabels to the conveying means.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more readilyapparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings,and in which drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a support provided with a plurality ofsegments embodying the present invention,

FIGURES 29 diagrammatically illustrate the various swinging movements ofa segment during the withdrawal of a label from the label holder, and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of an embodiment of theinvention in which two supports provided with segments are operablyassociated with a conveying means.

With reference to FIGURE 1, the means for removing single labelscomprises a support 2 provided with segments 1 and the support 2 rotatesabout axis 3. Each segment 1 is mounted rotatably on the support 2 viashafts 4 and is equipped with fixed gear wheels 5.

It will further be noted that levers 6 are mounted on the support 2 andare swingable about centers of rotation 7. One arm of each lever 6 isprovided with a toothed segment 8 which coacts with the gear wheel andthe other arm of the lever carries a roller 9 adapted to run along a camtrack 10. In order to apply an adhesive material to the curved surfaceof the segment 1, a gluing roller 11 to which glue or other adhesivematerial may be supplied by means not shown, is positioned in properrelationship to the support 2. Hence, upon rotation of the support 2and, as a consequence, the segments 1, glue is applied to the curvedsurface of the segment as the segment moves past the roller 11.

Labels 12 are positioned in a stationary of fixed holder 13 located inthe path of movement of the segments 1.

It will be noted that along the path of rotation of the segments 1 thereis located a conveying means 15 provided with grippers 14 which applythe labels removed from the segments 1 to the articles 16 to be labeled.

In FIGURES 2-9 is illustrated the travel path of one segment during theprocess of removing a single label 12 from the holder 13. Whilenormally, that is to say, during the gluing application and the transferof the labels to the conveying means 15, the segments 1 rotate alongpath 17 denoted by the dot-dash lines. However, the segment is swung outfrom the rotational path 17 in the zone of the label holder 13 and thisparticular movement occurs following the application of glue to thecurved surface of the segment 1 via the roller 11 by means of thecoaction between the toothed segment 8 and the gear wheel 5, with thesegments 8 receiving a suitable motion control by way of the roller 9and cam track 10. During the course of the swinging movement, thesegment 1, beginning with its rear edge viewed in the direction ofrotation, rolls over the outermost label in the holder 13 and after thewithdrawal of such label, as disclosed in FIGURE 9, again moves into itsinitial position wherein the curved surface coincides with the arc ofthe path 17. In that position, the segment 1 upon further rotation ofthe support 2 transfers the thus withdrawn label 12 to the grippers 14of the conveying means 15.

Referring to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 10, there are providedtwo rotatable supports 2' provided with segments 1 and both supports 2'coact with a con veying means 15'. This particular arrangement resultsin an increase of the output of the machine without an increase in thespeed of withdrawing single labels. It will be seen that the conveyingdevice which is provided with six grippers 14' is supplied with labelsalternatively by the supports 2' via the segments 1' and secures thelabels to the articles 16' which are conducted in an upright conditionpast the conveying device 15' on a conveyer track or the like 18. Inlieu of the conveying means 15' and grippers 14, it is possible toutilize a conveying means equipped with a suitable suction component.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity to theshowing in the drawings but changes or modifications may be made thereinso long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure fromthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for applying labels to bottles and similar articlescomprising a stationary holder for labels and from which holder thelabels are withdrawn individually, a rotatable support located inoperative relationship to the holder, segments rotatably mounted on thesupport, each segment having a curved surface adapted to receive anadhesive material so that when such segment moves past the holder duringrotation of the support, the outermost label in the holder is attachedto the curved surface thereby being withdrawn from the holder andconveyed to the article to be labeled, and the radius of curvature ofthe surface of the segment corresponding to the shortest distancebetween the axis of rotation of the support and the plane of withdrawalof each label from the holder.

2. The label applying apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including meansswingably mounting each segment on the support whereby such segmentrolls off on the withdrawal plane of the label holder, with suchwithdrawal plane being located tangentially to the curved surface of thesegment.

3. The label applying apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including meansfor effecting a swinging movement of the segment out of the arc ofrotation of the segment prior to withdrawal of a label from the holderand a swinging movement after passing the holder.

4. The label applying apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which camcontrol means are provided for effecting the swinging movements of thesegment.

5. The label applying apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said camcontrol means include a cam lever, a toothed segment on the cam leverand a gear wheel on the segment with which the toothed segment coacts.

6. The label applying apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further includingat least two rotatable supports and a rotatable conveying means locatedbetween said two sup ports for transferring the labels from the segmentsto the articles to be labeled.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,703,660 3/1955 Von Hofe et al.156571 XR 2,717,711 9/1955 Banks 156-571 XR 2,764,408 9/ 1956 Weiler156-568 XR EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

M. L. KATZ, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING LABELS TO BOTTLES AND SIMILAR ARTICLESCOMPRISING A STATIONARY HOLDER FOR LABELS AND FROM WHICH HOLDER THELABELS ARE WITHDRAWN INDIVIDUALLY, A ROTATABLE SUPPORT LOCATED INOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP TO THE HOLDER, SEGMENTS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THESUPPORT, EACH SEGMENT HAVING A CURVED SURFACE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE ANADHESIVE MATERIAL SO THAT WHEN SUCH SEGMENT MOVES PAST THE HOLDER DURINGROTATION OF THE SUPPORT, THE OUTERMOST LABEL IN THE HOLDER IS ATTACHEDTO THE CURVED SURFACE